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Please help to fix my career. DBA -> DE failed. Now DBA -> DA/BA. Need honest advice.
u/The__Dark_Passenger_
Please help to fix my career. DBA -> DE failed. Now DBA -> DA/BA. Need honest advice.
Discussion

Hey guys,

I'm a DBA with 2.5 yoe on legacy tech (Db2 for mainframe). Initially, I tried to fix this as my career. But after 1 year, I realised that this is not for me.

Night shifts. On-call. Weekends gone (mostly). Now health is taking a hit.

Not a performance issue - I literally won an eminence award for my work. But this tech is draining me and I can't see a future here.

What I already tried:

Got AWS certified. Then spent 2nd year fully grinding DE — SQL, Spark, Hadoop, Hive, Airflow, AWS projects, GitHub projects. Applied to MNCs. Got "No longer under consideration" from everyone. One company gave me an OA then ghosted. 2 years gone now. I feel like its almost impossible to get into DE without prior experience in it.

Where I'm at now:

I think DA/BA is more realistic for me. I already have:

  • Advanced SQL, Python, PySpark, AWS

  • Worked on Real cost-optimization project

  • Data Warehouse + Cloud Analytics pipeline projects on GitHub

  • Stakeholder management experience (To some extent)

I believe only thing missing honestly - Data Visualization - Power BI / Tableau, Storytelling, Business Metrics (Analytics POV).

The MBA question:

Someone suggested 1-year PGPM for accelerating career for young professional. But 60%+ placements go to Consulting in most B-Schools. Analytics is maybe 7% (less than 10%). I'm not an extrovert who can dominate B-School placements. Don't want to spend 25L and end up in another role I hate.

What I want:

DA / BA / BI Analyst. General shift. MNC (Not startup). Not even asking for hike. Just a humane life.

My questions:

  • Anyone successfully pivoted to DA/BA from a non-analytics background? What actually worked?

  • Is Power BI genuinely the missing piece or am I missing something bigger?

  • MBA for Analytics pivot - worth it or consulting trap?

  • How do I get shortlisted when my actual role is DBA but applying for DA/BA roles?

  • Is the market really that bad, or am I just unlucky?

I'm exhausted from trying. But I'm not giving up. Just need real advice from people who've actually done this.

Thanks 🙏